First Team News

Loan Watch: Hiwula fires Yeovil into FA Cup second round

Mon 10 Nov 2014, 10:38 AM

MICAH LOAN WATCH

Jordy Hiwula netted his first Yeovil Town goal on Saturday to ensure safe passage into the next round of the FA Cup.

It was the striker’s first appearance in England’s premier cup competition and he marked it in some style, robbing the defender of possession before coolly rounding the keeper and tucking the ball home.

His seventh minute strike proved to be the only goal of the game against Crawley Town, and the Glovers are now in the hat for Monday night’s second round draw.

Super Jordi Hiwula! pic.twitter.com/HjlfnXwXoO

— Cameron Gillan (@CameronGillan) November 8, 2014

Yeovil manager Gary Johnson was delighted for his young loanee, and told the Western Gazette after the game: “I’m really pleased Jordy scored his goal. I was already up two seconds before and celebrating but we’re pleased for him.

“We’ve kept persevering and he’s been a match winner for us. I thought we had a few match winners. It was as comfortable as a 1-0 result can be.”

Watch highlights, including Jordy’s goal on the BBC website here.

Fellow EDS striker Devante Cole was also among the FA Cup goals this weekend, netting Barnsley’s fifth against Burton Albion within minutes of coming off the bench for the Tykes.

The England youth international is certainly making quite the impression in Yorkshire, and Saturday’s strike was his sixth for the club.

You can watch the highlights here.

Elsewhere, Karim Rekik was PSV’s hero on Sunday afternoon, popping up with a stoppage time winner against Heracles to preserve his side’s four point cushion at the top of the Eredivisie.

The centre back went up front late on as the Dutch outfit desperately searched for a second goal after Luuk de Jong had cancelled out the home side’s opener.

Karim stabbed the ball home from close range in the 92nd minute after a penalty box scramble to confirm the points and send the away end into raptures.

Another City loanee making headlines in the Netherlands is Albert Rusnak, after a string of impressive displays for Cambuur. He chalked up another 90 minutes this week as his side fell 4-2 to high-flying Ajax, who are challenging PSV for the title.

The midfielder has proved a big hit with pundits and fans in the country, and has become a key figure in the last few months.

Writing for ESPN, Michael Yokhin explains the impact he is having on the club. He scribes: “Cambuur, promoted to Eredivisie in the summer of 2013, are a small club on a tiny budget and constantly searching for affordable young players who will help them survive.

“The past season, their play was built around Austrian prodigy Marcel Ritzmaier, who joined on loan from PSV Eindhoven and became a local hero. He went back to his club, and Cambuur needed someone to fill the void. Rusnak was chosen, and just a couple weeks into the new season, nobody misses Ritzmaier anymore.

“The Slovakian has not only scored three goals and provided two assists in 11 games but also became the lynchpin in midfield, the man who dictates the tempo and runs the show.

“The 20-year-old is firmly the crowd favourite in Leeuwarden.Local press describe him a humble person, even though he drives a sporty Mercedes.

...ESPN on Albert Rusnak...

"‘He is a gift from football heaven,’" Cambuur general manager Gerald van den Belt said.”

The full article is well worth a read to catch up on Rusnak’s exploits.

In Scotland, John Guidetti and Jason Denayer both got another 90 minutes under their belts for Celtic, who saw off Aberdeen 2-1 after going a man down to reach the Scottish Premiership summit for the first time this term.

The Swedish striker also picked up the SPFL Player of the Month award for October after netting six times in four games to fire Celtic up the table.

Guidetti declared: "When the opportunity was given to me, I took it and I'm trying to do my best. I don't see the two years as me playing badly and not doing well, because injuries happen in football and there's nothing you can do.

"It made me stronger and built me as a person and made me a better footballer, so much more grateful for being in the position I'm in today and to be able to play football.

"It's fantastic here - I can't complain.

"I'm playing in one of the biggest clubs in the world and it's an absolute pleasure and honour to put on the Celtic jersey."

Denayer also played another 90 minutes in Thursday’s 1-1 Europa League draw with Aston Giurgiu, and his composed display against Aberdeen caught the eye of fans on twitter.

Jason Denayer gave one of the best defensive displays I've seen recently in a @celticfc jersey.

— Árd Macha (@Ard_Macha) November 9, 2014

@Jasondenayer excellent performance today. You were my MOTM until Virgil popped up at the end!

— Hybrid Moments (@Alabama_Celt) November 9, 2014

The defender’s performances for the Hoops have earned him another call up to the senior Belgium squad for the European Championships qualifier against Wales and the Iceland friendly.

Elsewhere in the Scottish Premiership, Adam Drury played another 90 minutes as St Mirren went down 1-0 to Partick Thistle.

The Grimsby-born EDS starlet hit the bar late on but couldn’t find an equaliser for the Buddies.

St Mirren’s player-coach, Gary Teale has been delighted with Adam’s contribution so far.

Teale told the Glasgow Evening Times: “With Adam, he's come from youth team football at Man City, then maybe 10 games or so at Burton Albion.

"Now he's playing week in, week out. He's done fine, scored a few goals and making a few runs to that back-post area. He's a good lad and I've been impressed with him. He works hard and does the right things.

"All I have been saying to him when he gets into that final third is to be positive. You don't mind if he makes mistakes. It's not a philosophy lesson here, you're trying to give these lads the freedom to express themselves.”

Ellis Plummer is still out with groin problem.

More locally, Greg Leigh played the first 80 minutes as Crewe Alexandra held last year’s FA Cup semi-finalists Sheffield United to a 0-0 draw in the first round of the competition.

The replay has been scheduled for Tuesday 18 November.

On the continent, Alvaro Negredo started on the bench for Valencia but entered the fray after 69 minutes as Los Che tried to find a breakthrough against Athletic Bilbao. However, the striker was unable to have much impact on the game and it finished 0-0.

Bruno Zuculini was not involved.

Meanwhile, Micah Richards sat out Fiorentina’s 1-1 draw with PAOK in the Europa League last Thursday, and was an unused sub in Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Napoli in Serie A.

Marcos Lopes continues his recovery from injury, which this week led him to miss Lille’s Europa League defeat to Everton and the Ligue 1 clash with Reims.

In Norway, Bismark Boateng and Divine Naah both played no part in Stromsgodset’s 4-1 loss to second-place Rosenborg on the last day of the Eliteserien season. The duo helped their loan side finish fourth in the country’s top division.

The First Division campaign concluded last week, so there was no game for Eirik Holmen Johansen who now returns to City with a Championship medal from his time at Sandefjord. The club will join Stromsgodset in the Eliteserien next term.

Similarly, Godsway Donyoh’s time with Swedish side Falkenberg concluded last week. His loan side finished 13th in the league, ensuring they avoided the relegation play off.